HOUSTON – A former firefighter with Harris County Emergency Services District 48 brought a wrongful termination lawsuit against the local governmental entity.
Waller County resident Jeramie Casiano filed the suit on Apr. 23 in the Harris County 129th District Court, claiming the firing was retaliatory.
ESD 48 employed Casiano from 2009 to earlier this year.
According to the original petition, Casiano discovered that the defendant’s leadership engaged in “highly concerning and illegal” practices and brought them to the attention of the Board of Commissioners in the early part of 2017.
The plaintiff claims the respondent subsequently subjected him to a hostile work environment, adding he was fired for being “absent without leave” though other firefighters who committed the same offense were retained.
“It was clear that leadership of ESD 48 took the first opportunity that presented itself to terminate Mr. Casiano as a result of his correspondence outlining the concerns he had regarding leadership and the misuse of government property,” the suit says.
Consequently, he seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Jenna C. Castleman and Linda Leeser of the Leeser Law Firm PLLC in Houston are representing the plaintiff.
Harris County 129th District Court Case No. 2018-27135